Inside the finish: How Game 4 got away from the Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Up by 10, late in the third quarter. Up by seven, going into the fourth. The Indiana Pacers had a golden opportunity.

And then, thud.

A chance at a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals slipped right out of Indiana’s hands on Friday night, when the Oklahoma City Thunder — led by a huge finish from MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — outscored the Pacers 31-17 in the fourth quarter to pull off a 111-104 win in Game 4.

Just like that, series tied, 2-2.

“It’s frustrating, of course,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “You want to win that game ... but that’s not how the cookie crumbled.”

A look at how the rally — or collapse, depending on perspective — happened:

Pacers 89, Thunder 82, 10:56 left

Obi Toppin — who had just had a big dunk about three minutes earlier to give Indiana its first 10-point lead of the series — had another slam, this one stopping a mini-burst by the Thunder and restoring a seven-point lead for the Pacers.

Indiana went ice cold from there, missing 12 of its final 16 shots from the field.

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Pacers bending, not breaking

The Thunder tied the game at 89, then at 91, then at 95, then at 97. And each time, the Pacers had an answer.

Haliburton had a super-high-arching layup for a 91-89 lead with 7:50 left. Andrew Nembhard hit a jumper for a 93-91 lead with 6:59 to play. Haliburton scored again for a 97-95 lead with 5:03 left, and he had a pair of free throws with 4:19 remaining to break yet another tie.

“We had some deflating plays. It was an easy game to give up on,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

His team — and the league’s MVP — did the opposite.

SGA takes over

The Indiana lead was up to four with 3:20 left, 103-99.

Enter the MVP.

Gilgeous-Alexander had eight points in the next three minutes; the Pacers didn’t have any. He single-handedly decided the outcome.

“Fouls were an issue,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Look, he’s a great player. That’s the other issue. He’s the MVP ... But hey, you’re up seven at home. You have to dig in and find a way, and we were unable to do it tonight.”

Now what?

Indiana knows it has to win at least one more game at Oklahoma City now to become NBA champions. The Pacers won Game 1 there; they know it is possible.

“I’m excited about the challenge,” Haliburton said.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba